New Delhi The Planning Commission today approved a plan outlay of Rs 14,000 crore for Punjab during 2012-13, an increase of 12 per cent compared to the previous fiscal.

The state outlay was finalised by Commission's Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chief Minister of Punjab Prakash Singh Badal in a meeting here.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has selected three consortia that will receive a grant of Rs 125 crore from the Centre.

The funding will be over five years, under the Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Centre.

India on Wednesday launched its first indigenously manufactured anti-malaria new-age drug Synriam. The drug, produced by Ranbaxy Laboratories, was formally introduced for marketing here.

The drug, launched by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, has been developed by the company in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology and supported by the Indian Council for Medical Research.

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology today announced the selections for three consortia projects under the Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (JCERDC).

The JCERDC is being established under an agreement signed between the Governments of India and the United States of America which commits an amount of Rs 125 crore ($25 million) in funding over five years to institutions in India and the US for taking up collaborative research in the fields of advanced bio-fuels, energy efficiency in buildings and solar energy.

The Union Minister of Planning, Science and Technology Ashwani Kumar, on Monday, termed Himachal Pradesh’s demand for green bonus - payment of environment services - as legitimate and said he would help the state in getting financial benefits for preserving green cover. “I recognise the fact that Himachal should be compensated for retaining their green cover at the cost of development activities. It is a legitimate expectation of the state to be paid for this environment services,”

BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for New and Renewal Energy Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said the Centre would provide financial assistance to states for grid connectivity to renewable energy sources. Inaugurating a solar power plant and a hi-tech horticulture and floriculture farm at Tangi, about 30 km from here, Farooq said several renewable energy projects could not be commissioned for lack of support from states.

The country plans to have a nuclear power generation capacity of 63,000 Mw in the next 20 years as atomic power is advantageous in terms of transportation and storage, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said today.

"India plans to have a total installed nuclear capacity of 63,000 Mwe (megawatt electric) by the year 2032 both by indigenous technology and the imported reactors as additionalities," he said while addressing a seminar at India International Nuclear Symposium.

CHENNAI: Taking strong exception to Kerala's reported "unilateral" action in ordering real time monitoring of Mullaperiyar Dam along with the Centre without Tamil Nadu's consent, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today slammed it as a "blatant violation" of the principle of federalism and constitutional framework. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she referred to reports of Kerala deciding "unilaterally" to install real time monitoring system for water build up, calling it yet another attempt to exacerbate fears in Kerala about its safety.